Session processing in instant messaging

ABSTRACT

An example method including: with respect to a local session contained in a local session list, determining a remote user account corresponding to the local session; and when it is determined that the remote user account is not included in a set particular account list, concealing the local session in the local session list. Through the above method, it is feasible to only add an account of a particular object to the particular account list. In this way, local sessions corresponding to other remote user accounts other than the account of the particular object will be concealed in the local session list, and thus it is convenient for a local user to look for a particular session.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/177,089 (which matured into U.S. Pat. No.10,348,782), filed Jun. 8, 2016, entitled “Session Processing in InstantMessaging,” which claims the benefit of Chinese Patent ApplicationNumber 201510320276.2 filed Jun. 11, 2015, entitled “Method andApparatus of Session Processing in Instant Communication” which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of computer technologies,and, more particularly, to a session processing method and apparatus ininstant messaging.

BACKGROUND

At present, Instant Messaging (IM) applications have been widely used inpeople's life.

In general, after logging in to an IM application through a local useraccount and a password, a local user may query for stored accounts ofother users (hereinafter the other users are referred to as remoteusers, and the accounts of the other users are referred to as remoteuser accounts) in an address book of the IM application, or may requesta query for remote user accounts from a server. Then, it is feasible toenter a page for conducting instant messaging with the remote users byclicking the queried remote user accounts.

In conventional techniques, the IM application may store all instantmessaging messages that have been sent and received between a local useraccount and each remote user account respectively as one local sessioncorresponding to the each remote user account, and use the localsessions to form a local session list (each local session respectivelyserves as one line of the local session list) to be displayed in the IMapplication. It is feasible to, by clicking any local session, open apage that is used when instant messaging is conducted with thecorresponding remote user, and then continue to conduct instantmessaging with the remote user on the page. As shown in FIG. 1, the leftside is a local session list which includes a total of eight localsessions respectively corresponding to remote user accounts 1 to 8, andthe right side is a page displayed after a local session correspondingto the remote user account 1 is clicked and opened.

In actual applications, remote users that a local user often contacts inthe IM application are usually a few particular objects, such as thespouse, parents, close friends and so on. For most ordinary friends inthe address book, the local user may contact them only occasionally. Inthis case, although a lot of local sessions may be contained in a localsession list, what the local user usually clicks are only a few localsessions (hereinafter referred as particular sessions) corresponding tothe particular objects. As the particular sessions may be intermingledin a great number of other local sessions in the local session list andpositions of the particular sessions in the local session list may alsofrequently change, it is not convenient for the local user to look forthe particular sessions.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify all key featuresor essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intendedto be used alone as an aid in determining the scope of the claimedsubject matter. The term “technique(s) or technical solution(s)” forinstance, may refer to apparatus(s), system(s), method(s) and/orcomputer-readable instructions as permitted by the context above andthroughout the present disclosure.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a sessionprocessing method in instant messaging, which is used to solve theproblem in the conventional techniques that it is not convenient for alocal user to look for a particular session in an instant messagingapplication.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a sessionprocessing apparatus in instant messaging, which is used to solve theproblem in the conventional techniques that it is not convenient for alocal user to look for a particular session in an instant messagingapplication.

A session processing method in instant messaging provided in the exampleembodiments of the present disclosure includes:

with respect to a local session contained in a local session list,determining a remote user account corresponding to the local session;and

when it is determined that the remote user account is not included in aset particular account list, concealing the local session in the localsession list.

A session processing method in instant messaging provided in the exampleembodiments of the present disclosure includes:

with respect to a local session contained in a local session list,determining a remote user account corresponding to the local session;and

when it is determined that the remote user account is not included in aset particular account list, moving the local session down to a bottomof the local session list.

A session processing apparatus in instant messaging provided in theexample embodiments of the present disclosure includes:

a determination module that, with respect to a local session containedin a local session list, determines a remote user account correspondingto the local session; and

a concealing module that, when it is determined that the remote useraccount is not included in a set particular account list, conceals thelocal session in the local session list.

A session processing apparatus in instant messaging provided in theexample embodiments of the present disclosure includes:

a determination module that, with respect to a local session containedin a local session list, determines a remote user account correspondingto the local session; and

a bottoming module that, when it is determined that the remote useraccount is not included in a set particular account list, moves thelocal session down to a bottom of the local session list.

According to the example embodiments of the present disclosure, throughat least one of the above technical solutions, it is feasible to onlyadd an account of a particular object to the particular account list. Inthis way, local sessions corresponding to other remote user accountsother than the account of the particular object will be concealed in thelocal session list, or will be moved down to the bottom of the localsession list, and thus it is convenient for a local user to look for aparticular session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings described herein are used to provide a furtherunderstanding about the present disclosure and constitute a part of thepresent disclosure, and the example embodiments of the presentdisclosure and description thereof are used to illustrate the presentdisclosure, and do not constitute improper limitations to the presentdisclosure. In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of display of a local session list ininstant messaging in an actual application scenario provided in theconventional techniques;

FIG. 2 is an example session processing process in instant messagingaccording to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an example schematic diagram of a local session list that isdisplayed after a session to be concealed is set to be completelyinvisible and concealed in the local session list according to anexample embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an example schematic diagram of a local session list that isdisplayed after a session to be concealed is concealed in the localsession list in a manner that the session to be concealed is folded,according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an example schematic diagram of a local session list that isdisplayed after a session to be concealed is concealed in the localsession list in a manner that a color parameter for displaying thesession to be concealed is adjusted, according to an example embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an example schematic diagram of opening and displaying a localsession that has been concealed in a local session list based on anaddress book according to an example embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is another example session processing process in instantmessaging according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an example schematic diagram of a processed local session listin an actual application scenario corresponding to FIG. 7 according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an example schematic structural diagram of a sessionprocessing apparatus in instant messaging corresponding to FIG. 2according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is an example schematic structural diagram of a sessionprocessing apparatus in instant messaging corresponding to FIG. 7according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of thepresent disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the presentdisclosure are described below with reference to specific exampleembodiments and corresponding accompanying drawings. Evidently, theexample embodiments described only represent some example embodimentsand not all of the example embodiments of the present disclosure. Basedon the example embodiments in the present disclosure, all other exampleembodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art withoutmaking creative efforts all belong to the protection scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a session processing process in instant messaging according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure, which specificallyincludes the following steps:

S201: With respect to a local session contained in a local session list,a remote user account corresponding to the local session is determined.

An execution body of a method for information authentication accordingto an example embodiment of the present disclosure may be: a terminal, aserver, an application having an instant messaging function on theterminal or the server, and so on. The terminal may include, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smart watch, a personalcomputer, a vehicle-mounted mobile station and the like. The server mayinclude, but is not limited to, a personal computer, alarge/medium-sized computer, a computer cluster and the like. Theexecution body described herein does not constitute a limitation to thepresent disclosure.

In the example embodiment of the present disclosure, after a local useraccount is logged in, it is feasible to view and operate a local sessionlist. Each local session contained in the local session listrespectively corresponds to one remote user account. The remote useraccount may be an account of a single user, and may also be a groupaccount formed by accounts of at least two users (for example, anaccount of a user group, an account of a discussion group, and so on).

When the remote user account is an account of a single user, a localsession corresponding to the remote user account may include all instantmessaging messages that have been sent and received between the accountof the single user and the local user account; when the remote useraccount is a group account, a local session corresponding to the remoteuser account may include all instant messaging messages which are sentand received between accounts of all users in the group account in thegroup.

In general, when a local session is generated and saved, it is feasibleto label the local session, or add other additional information thereto,to represent a remote user account corresponding to the local session.Alternatively, it is also feasible to establish a mapping between thelocal session and a remote user account corresponding to the localsession, which is to be added to a pre-established mapping table.

In this way, in step S201, it is feasible to determine a remote useraccount corresponding to the local session by querying for the label,the additional information, or the mapping table, and then it is easy toperform particular processing on the local session corresponding to anyof the remote user accounts.

S202: When it is determined that the remote user account is not includedin a set particular account list, the local session in the local sessionlist is concealed.

In the example embodiment of the present disclosure, it is feasible toadd, by a local user, a selected remote user account to a set particularaccount list. A specific operating method of the adding includes, but isnot limited to, the following two kinds:

A first kind is that one or more remote user accounts are selected fromrespective remote user accounts contained in an address book and addedto the set particular account list.

A second kind is that a remote user account is queried from a server andthe queried remote user account is added to the set particular accountlist.

Certainly, it is also feasible to remove a remote user account that hasbeen contained in the set particular account list.

In the example embodiment of the present disclosure, to solve theproblems in the conventional techniques, it is feasible to only add, inadvance, remote user accounts of a few particular objects that a localuser often contacts to a set particular account list (for example, afriend list or the like). In this way, although a local session list, inaddition to possibly including local sessions (that is, particularsessions) corresponding to the remote user accounts of the particularobjects, may also include a great number of local sessions correspondingto remote user accounts of ordinary friends that the local user contactsoccasionally. As the remote user accounts of the ordinary friends arenot contained in the set particular account list, it is feasible toconceal the local sessions (which may also be referred to as sessions tobe concealed) corresponding to the remote user accounts of the ordinaryfriends, and in this way, operation convenience is improved when thelocal user frequently looks for a particular session.

It should be noted that the concealing described in the exampleembodiment of the present disclosure may refer to making a certainobject completely invisible in a certain region, or may also refer tomaking a certain object non-obvious (inconspicuous or not easy to befound) in a certain region with respect to other objects in the region.

In an actual application, for any session to be concealed, it isfeasible to conceal the session to be concealed in differentimplementation manners. The implementation manner includes, but is notlimited to, the following two manners:

The first one is that the session to be concealed is set to becompletely invisible in the local session list. For example, the sessionto be concealed is not displayed at all, and any tip about the sessionto be concealed is not provided.

Using the accounts in FIG. 1 as an example, assuming that threeaccounts, e.g., the remote user account 2, the remote user account 4 andthe remote user account 6, are accounts of the particular object andhave been added to the set particular account list, sessionscorresponding to the three accounts are all particular sessions.Correspondingly, all five accounts, e.g., the remote user account 1, theremote user account 3, the remote user account 5, the remote useraccount 7 and the remote user account 8, are not contained in the setparticular account list, and sessions corresponding to the five accountsare all sessions to be concealed. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of alocal session list after a session to be concealed is concealed in thelocal session list in a manner that the session to be concealed is setto be completely invisible. The five sessions to be concealed have allbeen completely invisible.

Alternatively, the session to be concealed is set to be partiallyinvisible in the local session list. For example, the session to beconcealed is folded, or the session to be concealed is indented to asidebar of a current display screen, and so on, and a corresponding tipis provided. Respective local sessions in the local session list whichare located below the session to be concealed are all moved one columnup, to ensure visual continuity of content contained in the localsession list. That is, respective local sessions visible for the localuser in the local session list are still arranged and displayedcontinuously in sequence from the first column of the local sessionlist.

Another example of the first concealing manner is described bycontinuously using the supposition in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows a schematicdiagram of a local session list after a session to be concealed isconcealed in the local session list in a manner that the session to beconcealed is folded. FIG. 4 shows that the five sessions to be concealedhave all been folded, are partially invisible and have correspondingoperation tips.

The second one is to, by respectively adjusting brightness, contrast,color and other parameters when the session to be concealed and otherlocal sessions are displayed currently, make the displayed session to beconcealed after adjustment non-obvious with respect to the other localsessions. For example, a display color of the session to be concealed isadjusted to a very light color within preset thresholds (for example,light grey, faint yellow, and so on).

One example of the second concealing manner is described by continuouslyusing the supposition in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of alocal session list after a session to be concealed is concealed in thelocal session list in a manner that a color parameter for displaying thesession to be concealed is adjusted. FIG. 5 shows that display colors ofthe five sessions to be concealed have all been adjusted to light greyand are very inconspicuous compared with the display color of theparticular session.

Through the above method, as local sessions corresponding to otherremote user accounts other than the account of the particular objectwill be concealed in the local session list, it is convenient for thelocal user to look for a particular session.

Further, in an actual application, regarding step S202 as above, when itis determined that the remote user account is not included in a setparticular account list, it is likely that the local user is using alocal session corresponding to the remote user account (i.e., isconducting instant messaging with the remote user account in the localsession), and the current local user may frequently click the localsession. In this case, if the local session is immediately concealed inthe local session list, the convenience for the local user to click thelocal session will be affected.

To solve this problem, regarding step S202 as above, before the localsession is concealed in the local session list, the local session ismonitored to determine whether or not, in a set time interval, there isa new instant messaging message added to the local session. If yes, thelocal user is considered as using the local session currently, and thelocal session in the local session list is temporarily not concealed inthe local session list. If not, the local user is considered as notusing the local session currently, and thus the local session in thelocal session list is concealed immediately.

Further, the set time interval is described, and an implementationmethod of setting the time interval includes, but is not limited to, thefollowing two kinds:

The first one is to set one time interval respectively for each localsession, wherein the length of the time interval may be a suitablepreset value (for example, it may be 24 h, or 12 h, or 1 h, or thelike), and the interval starting point of the time interval may be: atime point represented by a timestamp of a most recent instant messagingmessage contained in the local session. Correspondingly, the intervalend point of the time interval may be: a time point after a period oftime of which the length is a preset value elapses from the intervalstarting point.

When the local session is monitored, a monitoring timer is set. Eachtime a new instant messaging message is added to the local session, themonitoring timer is reset and timing is restarted once, and when thetiming length of one-time timing of the monitoring timer reaches thelength of the time interval, the local session in the local session listis immediately concealed.

The second one is to set a global time interval for each of the localsessions. For example, the same monitoring timer is used to monitor allthe local sessions. The monitoring timer times circularly, with thetiming length of each round being the length of the global timeinterval, and in each round of cycle, if it is monitored that there isno new instant messaging message added to the local session, the localsession in the local session list is immediately cancelled.

In the example embodiment of the present disclosure, regarding step S202as above, after the local session is concealed in the local sessionlist, it is still likely that the remote user account corresponding tothe local session sends an instant messaging message over, and in thiscase, the local user may need to use the local session once again, toview the instant messaging message or reply the instant messagingmessage.

In this case, if the local session is still in a concealed state in thelocal session list, it is evidently not convenient for the user to use;therefore, regarding step S202 as above, after the local session isconcealed in the local session list, when it is determined that there isa new instant messaging message added to the local session, the localsession in the local session list is redisplayed. It should be notedthat the present disclosure does not limit the display position wherethe local session is redisplayed, it is feasible to display the localsession on the top of the local session list (for example, the firstcolumn), it is also feasible to display the local session in a positionwhere the local session is located before concealed, and so on. Inaddition, if the local session was previously concealed by adjustingbrightness, contrast, color and other parameters, the parameters arerestored to values prior to adjustment, so that the local session may beredisplayed.

Further, regarding step S202 as above, after the local session isconcealed in the local session list, it is also likely that the localuser sends an instant messaging message to the remote user accountcorresponding to the local session. In this case, the local user mayalso need to use the local session once again, and thus it is necessaryto provide a corresponding method for using the local session once againthat has been concealed in the local session list.

When the local session is in a completely invisible state in the localsession list, it is feasible to use the local session through an addressbook on the premise that the remote user account corresponding to thelocal session is contained in the address book. For example, it isfeasible to, by performing a particular operation (such as, clicking orsliding the remote user account contained in the address book, and soon), send a session view instruction for the remote user accountcontained in the address book to the execution body in the exampleembodiment of the present disclosure. Correspondingly, when receivingthe session view instruction, the execution body may open and displaythe local session, and then the user may use the local session onceagain.

The address book is described by continuously using the assumption inFIG. 3. The left side of FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an addressbook, and the right side of FIG. 6 is a local session corresponding tothe remote user account 3 opened and displayed after the remote useraccount 3 in the address book is clicked.

The example embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition toproviding the method in FIG. 2, also provides another session processingmethod in instant messaging, which may also solve the problem raised inthe conventional techniques. FIG. 7 illustrates another sessionprocessing process in instant messaging, which may include the followingsteps:

S701: With respect to a local session contained in a local session list,a remote user account corresponding to the local session is determined.

S702: When it is determined that the remote user account is not includedin a set particular account list, the local session is moved down to thebottom of the local session list.

It should be noted that the bottom of the local session list may referto the last line of the local session list, or may also refer to anyline below a particular session in the lowest position in the localsession list.

Continuing to use the assumption in FIG. 3; FIG. 8 is a schematicdiagram of a local session list after local sessions corresponding tothe five accounts, the remote user account 1, the remote user account 3,the remote user account 5, the remote user account 7 and the remote useraccount 8, are processed with the method of FIG. 7. Ash shown, the localsessions corresponding to the five accounts have all been moved down tothe bottom of the local session list.

Through the above method, it is feasible to only add an account of aparticular object to the particular account list. In this way, as localsessions corresponding to other remote user accounts other than theaccount of the particular object will be moved down to the bottom of thelocal session list, the local user may find a particular session only bydirectly viewing the first few columns of the local session list, andthus the convenience when the local user looks for a particular sessionis improved.

Further, similar to the method in FIG. 2, regarding step S702 as above,before the local session is moved down to the bottom of the localsession list, in some examples, it is also necessary to determine that,in a set time interval, there is no new instant messaging message addedto the local session.

Furthermore, corresponding to the step of redisplaying the concealedlocal session in FIG. 2, the practice in FIG. 7 may be: after the localsession is moved down to the bottom of the local session list, when itis determined that there is a new instant messaging message added to thelocal session, the local session is moved up to the top of the localsession list, wherein the top of the local session list could be thefirst line of the local session list.

In the example embodiment of the present disclosure, the particularaccount list may be manually maintained on the execution body by thelocal user, or may also be automatically or semi-automaticallymaintained by the execution body.

Regarding the former maintenance manner, for example, the local user maysend a particular account determination instruction for at least oneremote user account to the execution body by operating a particularcontrol. When receiving the particular account determinationinstruction, the execution body may add the at least one remote useraccount to the particular account list.

Regarding the latter maintenance manner, for example, the execution bodymay, with respect to a remote user account that has not yet contained inthe particular user account list, determine periodically or in real timewhether or not, in a local session corresponding to the remote useraccount, an average exchange frequency at which instant messagingmessages are exchanged between the remote user account and a local useraccount is greater than a preset threshold. If yes, the local useraccount is considered as having frequently exchanged instant messagingmessages with the remote user account in a recent period of time and isvery likely to continue exchanging instant messaging messages with theremote user account frequently, and thus the remote user account isadded to the particular account list, to facilitate the local user toview the local session corresponding to the remote user account.

It should be noted that the average exchange frequency may refer to thenumber of times an instant messaging message is exchanged between theremote user account and the local user account in unit time (forexample, in a recent week, or in a recent month, or the like). That theremote user account and the local user account respectively send to theother side an instant messaging message may be referred to as: aninstant messaging message is exchanged once between the remote useraccount and the local user account. For example, suppose that theselected unit time is a recent week and there is a total of 100 instantmessaging messages added to the local session in the recent week,wherein 55 instant messaging messages are sent by the local user accountand 45 instant messaging messages are sent by the remote user account,the average exchange frequency may be denoted as 45 times.

Certainly, in an actual application, before adding the remote useraccount to the particular account list, the execution body may furtherinquire of the local user about whether to execute the adding operationor not. If the local user determines to execute the adding operation,the execution body adds the remote user account to the particularaccount list. If the local user determines not to execute the addingoperation, the execution body does not add the remote user account tothe particular account list. As a result, it is feasible to avoid thatthe execution body goes against real intention of the local user whenmaintaining the particular account list, thereby improving reliabilityof the particular account list.

The above relates to the session processing methods in instant messagingaccording to the example embodiments of the present disclosure, andbased on the same thought, the example embodiments of the presentdisclosure further provide corresponding session processing apparatusesin instant messaging, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a session processingapparatus 900 in instant messaging corresponding to FIG. 2 according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 900includes one or more processor(s) 902 or data processing unit(s) andmemory 904. The apparatus 900 may further include one or moreinput/output interface(s) 906, and network interface(s) 908. The memory904 is an example of computer readable media.

The memory 904 may store therein a plurality of modules or unitsincluding:

a determination module 910 that, with respect to a local sessioncontained in a local session list, determines a remote user accountcorresponding to the local session; and

a concealing module 912 that, when it is determined that the remote useraccount is not included in a set particular account list, conceals thelocal session in the local session list.

The apparatus 900 may further include the following modules stored onmemory 904:

a judgment module 914 that, before the concealing module 912 concealsthe local session in the local session list, determines that, in a settime interval, there is no new instant messaging message added to thelocal session; and

a redisplay module 916 that, after the concealing module 912 concealsthe local session in the local session list, when it is determined thatthere is a new instant messaging message added to the local session,redisplays the local session in the local session list.

The remote user account is contained in an address book. The apparatus900 may further include the following module stored on memory 904: adisplay module 918 that, when a session view instruction for the remoteuser account contained in the address book is received, opens anddisplays the local session.

The apparatus 900 may further include the following module stored onmemory 904: an adding module 920 that, when it is determined that, inthe local session, an average exchange frequency at which instantmessaging messages are exchanged between the remote user account and alocal user account is greater than a preset threshold, adds the remoteuser account to the particular account list; and/or when a particularaccount determination instruction for at least one remote user accountis received, adds the at least one remote user account to the particularaccount list.

For example, the apparatus as shown in FIG. 9 may be located on aterminal, a server or on an application having an instant messagingfunction on the terminal or the server.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a session processingapparatus 1000 in instant messaging corresponding to FIG. 7 according toan example embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 1000 includes one or more processor(s) 1002 or dataprocessing unit(s) and memory 1004. The apparatus 1000 may furtherinclude one or more input/output interface(s) 1006, and networkinterface(s) 1008. The memory 1004 is an example of computer readablemedia.

The memory 1004 may store therein a plurality of modules or unitsincluding:

a determination module 1010 that, with respect to a local sessioncontained in a local session list, determines a remote user accountcorresponding to the local session; and

a bottoming module 1012 that, when it is determined that the remote useraccount is not included in a set particular account list, moves thelocal session down to the bottom of the local session list.

The apparatus 1000 may further include the following modules stored onmemory 1004:

a judgment module 1014 that, before the bottoming module 1012 moves thelocal session down to the bottom of the local session list, determinesthat, in a set time interval, there is no new instant messaging messageadded to the local session; and

a topping module 1016 that, after the bottoming module 1012 moves thelocal session down to the bottom of the local session list, when it isdetermined that there is a new instant messaging message added to thelocal session, moves the local session up to the top of the localsession list.

The bottom of the local session list may, for example, include: the lastline of the local session list, or any line below a local session whichis in the lowest position in local sessions corresponding to respectiveremote user accounts contained in the set particular account list in thelocal session list.

The apparatus 1000 may further include the following module stored onmemory 1004:

an adding module 1018 that, when it is determined that, in the localsession, an average exchange frequency at which instant messagingmessages are exchanged between the remote user account and a local useraccount is greater than a preset threshold, adds the remote user accountto the particular account list; and/or when a particular accountdetermination instruction for at least one remote user account isreceived, adds the at least one remote user account to the particularaccount list.

For example, the apparatus 1000 as shown in FIG. 10 may be located on aterminal, a server or on an application having an instant messagingfunction on the terminal or the server.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure provide at least onesession processing method and apparatus in instant messaging, whereinthe method includes: with respect to a local session contained in alocal session list, determining a remote user account corresponding tothe local session; and when it is determined that the remote useraccount is not included in a set particular account list, concealing thelocal session in the local session list. Alternatively, the methodincludes: with respect to a local session contained in a local sessionlist, determining a remote user account corresponding to the localsession; and when it is determined that the remote user account is notincluded in a set particular account list, moving the local session downto the bottom of the local session list. Through the above method, it isfeasible to only add an account of a particular object to the particularaccount list. In this way, local sessions corresponding to other remoteuser accounts other than the account of the particular object will beconcealed in the local session list, or will be moved down to the bottomof the local session list, and thus it is convenient for a local user tolook for a particular session.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the exampleembodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, asystem, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the presentinvention may use the form of an entire hardware example embodiment, anentire software example embodiment or an example embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention mayuse the form of a computer program product implemented on one or morecomputer-available storage media (including, but not limited to,magnetic disk memories, CD-ROMs, optical memories, and the like)including computer-available program codes.

The present disclosure is described with reference to flow charts and/orblock diagrams of the method, device (system) and computer programproduct according to the example embodiments of the present invention.It should be understood that computer program instructions may be usedto implement each flow and/or block in the flow charts and/or blockdiagrams as well as a combination of flows and/or blocks in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, anembedded processor or a processor of other programmable data processingdevices to generate a machine, so that an apparatus configured toimplement functions specified in one or more flows in the flow chartsand/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams is generated by usinginstructions executed by a computer or a processor of other programmabledata processing devices.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable memory that may guide a computer or other programmable dataprocessing devices to work in a particular manner, so that theinstructions stored in the computer readable memory generate an articleof manufacture including an instruction apparatus, where the instructionapparatus implements functions specified in one or more flows in theflow charts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded into a computeror other programmable data processing devices, so that a series ofoperation steps are performed on the computer or other programmabledevices to generate processing implemented by the computer, andinstructions executed on the computer or other programmable devicesprovide steps for implementing functions specified in one or more flowsin the flow charts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

In a typical configuration, a computation device includes one or morecentral processing units (CPUs), an input/output interface, a networkinterface and a memory.

The memory may include the following forms of a computer readablemedium: a volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM) and/or anon-volatile memory, for example, a read-only memory (ROM) or a flashRAM. The memory is an example of the computer readable medium.

The computer readable medium includes volatile and non-volatile,removable and non-removable media, and may use any method or technologyto store information. The information may be a computer readableinstruction, a data structure, a module of a program or other data.Examples of storage medium of a computer include, but are not limitedto, a phase change memory (PRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM),a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of RAMs, an ROM, anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flashmemory or other memory technologies, a compact disk read-only memory(CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, acassette tape, a tape disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, orany other non-transmission media, which may be that storing computeraccessible information. According to the definition herein, the computerreadable medium does not include transitory media, for example, amodulated data signal and a carrier.

It should be further noted that terms “comprise”, “include” or any othervariations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, sothat processes, methods, goods or devices that include a series ofelements not only include those elements, but also include otherelements not explicitly listed, or further include elements inherent inthe processes, methods, goods or devices. Without more restrictions, anelement defined by the wording of “including a . . . ” does not precludethe further inclusion of other identical elements in the processes,methods, goods or devices that include the element.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the exampleembodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a method, asystem, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the presentdisclosure may take the form of an entire hardware example embodiment,an entire software example embodiment or an example embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present disclosure maytake the form of a computer program product implemented on one or morecomputer-available storage media (including, but not limited to,magnetic disk memories, CD-ROMs, optical memories, and the like)including computer-available program codes.

The above are only example embodiments of the present disclosure andshould not be used to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled inthe art, the present disclosure may have various variations and changes.Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like madewithin the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall fallwithin the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: improving operationconvenience in instant messaging by: adding a remote user account to aset particular account list, in response to determining that, in a localsession, an average exchange frequency at which instant messagingmessages are exchanged between the remote user account and a local useraccount is greater than a preset threshold; determining whether theremote user account is included in the set particular account list, theremote user account corresponding to the local session contained in alocal session list; determining that, in a set time interval, there isno new instant messaging message added to the local session; andconcealing the local session in the local session list in response todetermining that the remote user account is not included in the setparticular account list, wherein concealing the local session in thelocal session list comprises moving the local session down to the bottomof the local session list, wherein the bottom of the local session listincludes a last line of the local session list.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: after the moving the local session down to thebottom of the local session list, moving the local session up in thelocal session list in response to determining that there is a newinstant messaging message added to the local session.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein moving the local session up in the local session listincludes moving the local session up to the top of the local sessionlist.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after the concealingthe local session in the local session list, displaying the localsession in the local session list in response to determining that thereis a new instant messaging message added to the local session.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the remote user account is contained in anaddress book.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising opening anddisplaying the local session when a session view instruction for theremote user account contained in the address book is received.
 7. Anapparatus, comprising: One or more processors, memory, coupled to theone or more processors, the memory storing thereon computer-readableinstructions executable by one or more processors, that when executed bythe one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to performacts including: improving operation convenience in instant messaging by:adding a remote user account to a set particular account list, inresponse to determining that, in a local session, an average exchangefrequency at which instant messaging messages are exchanged between theremote user account and a local user account is greater than a presetthreshold; determining whether the remote user account is included inthe set particular account list, the remote user account correspondingto the local session contained in a local session list; determiningthat, in a set time interval, there is no new instant messaging messageadded to the local session; and concealing the local session in thelocal session list in response to determining that the remote useraccount is not included in the set particular account list, whereinconcealing the local session in the local session list comprises movingthe local session down to the bottom of the local session list, whereinthe bottom of the local session list includes a line below a respectivelocal session which is in a lowest position in local sessions,corresponding to respective remote user accounts contained in the setparticular account list, in the local session list.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, the acts further comprising: after the moving the local sessiondown to the bottom of the local session list, moving the local sessionup in the local session list in response to determining that there is anew instant messaging message added to the local session.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein moving the local session up in the localsession list includes moving the local session up to the top of thelocal session list.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, the acts furthercomprising: after the concealing the local session in the local sessionlist, displaying the local session in the local session list in responseto determining that there is a new instant messaging message added tothe local session.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the remote useraccount is contained in an address book.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,the acts further comprising opening and displaying the local sessionwhen a session view instruction for the remote user account contained inthe address book is received.
 13. A computer-readable storage mediumstoring computer-readable instructions executable by one or moreprocessors, that when executed by the one or more processors, causes theone or more processors to perform acts comprising: improving operationconvenience in instant messaging by: adding a remote user account to aparticular account list when receiving the particular accountdetermination instruction for the remote user account; determiningwhether the remote user account is included in the set particularaccount list, the remote user account corresponding to the local sessioncontained in a local session list; determining that, in a set timeinterval, there is no new instant messaging message added to the localsession; and concealing the local session in the local session list inresponse to determining that the remote user account is not included inthe set particular account list, wherein concealing the local session inthe local session list comprises moving the local session down to thebottom of the local session list.
 14. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 13, wherein the bottom of the local session listincludes a last line of the local session list.
 15. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the bottom of thelocal session list includes a line below a respective local sessionwhich is in a lowest position in local sessions, corresponding torespective remote user accounts contained in the set particular accountlist, in the local session list.
 16. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 13, the acts further comprising: after the moving thelocal session down to the bottom of the local session list, moving thelocal session up in the local session list in response to determiningthat there is a new instant messaging message added to the localsession.
 17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, whereinmoving the local session up in the local session list includes movingthe local session up to the top of the local session list.
 18. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the acts furthercomprising: after the concealing the local session in the local sessionlist, displaying the local session in the local session list in responseto determining that there is a new instant messaging message added tothe local session.
 19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13,wherein the remote user account is contained in an address book.
 20. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 19, the acts furthercomprising opening and displaying the local session when a session viewinstruction for the remote user account contained in the address book isreceived.